It’s almost that time of year again, on Wednesday 19 July Dorset’s most wildlife friendly gardens will be celebrated at the Dorset Wildlife Trust Wildlife Friendly Garden Competition Awards Ceremony, being held at Castle Gardens from 6:30pm. As well as championing the best gardens in each category throughout the county, we are very lucky to have guest speaker Kate Bradbury, RHS qualified gardener, author and journalist. Kate will give a captivating talk on making the most out of what the natural world has to offer, as well as a revealing the do’s and don’ts of organic gardening, the best natural methods for pest control and advice on wildlife friendly planting.

There will be light refreshments in The Walled Garden from 6:30pm before the awards are announced from 7pm. Tickets are £5 each and are available at all of our garden centres and from Briony Baxter on 01305 264620 or at BBaxter@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk.

Jams are setting, chutneys are mellowing to perfection and bread making skills are being honed, as contenders prepare for the Yeovil Community Arts Association Baking and Making competition. Everyone is welcome to put their creations forward, so it’s not too late to enter and have yours judged by celebrity chef, Lesley Waters, on Tuesday 14 March.

There’s only one week to go until entry closes for this exciting culinary contest, so if you haven’t got your entries in yet, download the entry form here.

For those who like a pepper that packs a punch, we’ve got a real treat in store for you next month. Our brand new Chilli Pepper Festival will take place at all three centres during July and provides the perfect opportunity for families to learn more about chillies, from how they’re grown right through to ideas for some deliciously spicy dishes.

Our Young Grower of the Year competition kicked off in March and since then children from Sherborne Primary School, Huish Primary School and Damers First School have been nurturing their chilli plants, proving just how little space you need to start growing your own produce at home. Our winners will be announced during the festival and I can’t wait to see how they’ve got on.

The pupils who grow the healthiest plants with the largest and most vibrant coloured peppers will be awarded with a certificate, a medal and some chocolate, not to mention a recipe for a three pepper pizza so they can put their chillies to good use!

At Brimsmore Gardens we’ll also have a chilli plant stand and a chilli trail to take part in. Just follow the clues around the centre to learn more about our fiery little friends, then hand in your form at the end to get a free coffee and to be entered into our prize draw to win a hamper full of chilli products. Our website will also have a taste bud tingling selection of recipes to download, so check back here next month if you’d like to spice up supper time.

Our Chilli Pepper Festival will take place at Brimsmore Gardens from 6 – 12 July, Poundbury Gardens from 13 – 19 July and Castle Gardens from 20 – 26 July. We’ll look forward to seeing you there, and if you’re visiting The Engine Room restaurant or The Apple Tree restaurant, look out for our voucher book containing great deals for every week of the summer holidays!

On Friday, Alexa from Brimsmore Gardens visited Huish Primary School in Yeovil to tell pupils all about our new Young Grower of the Year competition. As well as delivering pre-potted bell pepper plants for the classroom, each child in the year group was invited to collect their own free pepper growing kit from the garden centre, which includes a pot, seeds and compost – so that they can grow their own peppers at home for the chance to be crowned Young Grower of the Year.

On Wednesday 8 July, the plants will be judged by Alexa, who will be looking for the healthiest plant and assessing the number, size and colour of the peppers. The winner will receive The Gardens Group’s Young Grower of the Year trophy.

The great thing about this competition is that you don’t need a huge garden to grow the peppers, as a sunny window sill can produce the most delicious and juicy peppers. With so many vegetable varieties to choose from, we really hope this competition inspires families to experiment with other edible plants and enjoy this hugely rewarding hobby together.

We wish all of the pupils the best of luck and look forward to seeing the fruits of their labours.

Wildlife loving gardeners are now invited to enter the fifth annual Dorset Wildlife Trust Wildlife Friendly Garden Competition. If you’ve created a wildlife haven in your garden, then why not enter this year’s competition and share your success with us? Marks are given for wildlife provisions, no matter what size the garden of the garden, there are five categories, including small/patio, medium, large and community, as well as a best improved entry for previous winners. You can pick up an entry form from any one of our garden centres or by emailing Joy Wallis at jwallis@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk.

Following the government’s publication of the National Pollinator Strategy this year, judges will be keeping their eyes out for people who are making special provisions for pollinating insects, such as lots of nectar and pollen-rich plants, bee houses and other special habitats, and not to mention keeping records of the pollinators that they see.

All entrants will get feedback and suggestions on how to improve the wildlife friendliness of their gardens and will be invited to the awards ceremony at Castle Gardens on Thursday 30 July. This year we are pleased to announce that our guest speaker will be Dr David Aplin, director of Botanical Values, who will be talking about the weird and wonderful world of plants that partner with other organisms.

The closing date for entering the Wildlife Friendly Garden Competition is Friday 22 May 2015.

Throughout November, visitors to Poundbury Gardens have been greeted by our resident three metre tall woven reindeer. We asked everyone that came to the garden centre and restaurant to come up with a creative name for him… and after much deliberation, we decided that the most fitting name for our festive friend is Jingle, as suggested by 12 year old Mya from Poundbury.

Follow Jingle’s journey on Facebook throughout December and see if you can identify the various places that he visits on his way back to Lapland.

As our attention starts to move towards Christmas and our award-winning displays, the team at Brimsmore Gardens has decided to get its customers involved with the design of this year’s train set track. Entries are now open for children (and big kids) to draw their dream train set track design for the chance to have it replicated and on display at Brimsmore Gardens from October to December. The winning designer will also get a train set of their own to carry on their creativity at home. More information is available in-store at Brimsmore Gardens – and make sure to visit our award-winning restaurant for free drinks and cake for each entry into the competition.